Unity in Ibn Arabi’s view and its relation to the issue of “the Others”

AbstractAlthough the issue of “the Others” has not been considered among the Muslim philosophers as an independent issue, but this potential exists between all intellectual ideas in Islamic world especially in mysticism. Accordingly, we can present asking about “the Others” in Ibn Arabi’s work as Islamic mysticism and find his intellectual basis in this field. The unity of existence as the most important Ibn Arabi’s worldview can be seen in every places of his mystical system and it is one of the most important determinants of his behavioral strategies towards “the Others”. In the issues about ontology, the right and creation are the unit truth; and if its unity direction being considered it is truth, and if the plurality being considered, it is creation; so the most comprehensive view to the universe is considering both unity and plurality. This is a comprehensive view despite accepting plurality, it considers a unity over pluralities and provides a ground for accepting “the Others” with all contradictions and differences. This approach by extending towards epistemology clarifies the special Ibn Arabi’s approach against epistemic contradictions.